1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a protective cap or guard, and particularly to a fingernail cap which protects a fingernail from dirt, breaking, cracking, and the like.
2. Descripton of the Prior Art
A commonly encountered problem is that of breaking and tearing fingernails, not to mention the usual accumulation of dirt that regularly must be cleaned from under the nails. These problems are aggravated for women who conventionally wear their fingernails relatively long, in accordance with the fashion, and paint their nails with a lacquer or enamel which requires time to dry. As a consequence, women frequently find it difficult to accomplish routine tasks such as housework, gardening and yard work, typing, baking and cooking, applying cosmetics and arranging their hair, and other general activities without harming their fingernails.
Numerous appliances have been proposed for protecting fingernails from the aforementioned hazards. Examples of such appliances may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,225,571, issued Dec. 17, 1940 to J. E. Smith; 2,323,854, issued July 6, 1943 to S. Silverman; 2,458,709, issued Jan. 11, 1949 to J. H. Kayer; and 3,070,804, issued Jan. 1, 1963 to S. C. Parrilla. These known devices generally have a shield that extends from a finger-encompassing band and covers only the surface of the fingernail. U.S. Pat. No. 2,458,709 uses a fingertip engaging portion in the form of connected side strips that engage between the fingernail and the adjacent fingertip to hold the protector aligned with the end phalanx of the finger, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,070,804 has a nail supporting strip which forms a similar function. These known appliances have in common, that they are only concerned with protecting the fingernail per se, and thus only protect the top, or outer, surface of the fingernail.
Other references believed pertinent to the present invention are as follows:
1,783,984 M.V. Shane 12/9/30 2,816,555 C.A. Klump 12/17/57